Fourwing Saltbush

Fourwing Saltbush

Atriplex canescens

Fourwing Saltbush is a native, perennial shrub that is notoriously variable, depending on climate. It is highly palatable browse for most livestock and big game. It is used primarily in the winter at which time it is high in carotene and averages about four percent digestible protein. It makes excellent screens, hedges, and barriers. It is especially useful on saline-sodic soils. It has excellent drought tolerance. It has been planted in highway medians and on road shoulders, slopes, and other disturbed areas near roadways. Because it is a good wildlife browse species, caution is recommended in using it in plantings along roadways. Its extensive root system provides excellent erosion control. It is one of the most widely distributed and important native shrubs on rangelands in the western United States including the Intermountain, Great Basin, and Great Plains regions. Its natural range extends from below sea level to above 8,000 feet elevation. It is adapted to most soils but is best suited to deep, well drained; loamy to sandy to gravely soils. It is sometimes found growing in dense clay soils. It is very tolerant of saline soil conditions and somewhat tolerant of sodic soil conditions.

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